Qualifying period for single-tier pension set at ten years

Pension minister Steve Webb (pictured) confirmed the minimum qualifying period , which will apply to anyone reaching state pension age (SPA) after the April 2016, in a written statement. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had initially said the qualifying period would be between seven years and a decade. A DWP study published in October found that introducing a minimum qualifying period at the upper end of this range would save the government about £650m a year (in today's prices) by 2040. It said a ten-year qualifying period would affect between 15,000 and 22,000 people re...